Historical epochs in order: chronology. Historical chronology

3. AGES AND PERIODS IN THE HISTORY OF HUMANITY

The history of mankind has many hundreds of thousands of years. If in the middle of the XX century. it was believed that man began to stand out from the animal world 600 thousand - 1 million years ago, then modern anthropology, the science of the origin and evolution of man, came to the conclusion that man appeared about 2 million years ago. This is the generally accepted view, although there are others. According to one hypothesis, human ancestors appeared in southeast africa 6 million years ago. These two-legged creatures did not know tools for more than 3 million years. They got their first tool 2.5 million years ago. About 1 million years ago, these people began to settle throughout Africa, and then beyond.

The two-million-year history of mankind is usually divided into two extremely uneven eras - primitive and civilizational (Fig. 2).

civilizational era

primeval era

about 2 million

years BC e.

BC e. frontier

Rice. 2. Epochs in the history of mankind

Epoch primitive society accounts for more than 99% of human history. The primitive era is usually divided into six unequal periods: Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Eneolithic, Bronze Age, iron age.

Paleolithic, ancient stone Age, are divided into the early (lower) Paleolithic (2 million years BC - 35 thousand years BC) and the late (upper) Paleolithic (35 thousand years BC - 10 thousand years BC.). During the early Paleolithic, man penetrated the territory of Eastern Europe and the Urals. struggle for existence in ice Age taught man how to make fire, how to make stone knives; the proto-language was born and the first religious performances. In the late Paleolithic period, the skilled man turned into a reasonable man; races were formed - Caucasoid, Negroid, Mongoloid. The primitive herd was replaced by a higher form of organization of society - the tribal community. Until the time of the spread of metal, matriarchy dominated.

Mesolithic, the Middle Stone Age, lasted about 5 thousand years (X thousand years BC - V thousand years BC). At this time, people began to use stone axes, bows and arrows, domestication of animals (dogs, pigs) began. This is the time of mass settlement of Eastern Europe and the Urals.

Neolithic, the new stone age (VI thousand years BC - IV thousand years BC), is characterized by significant changes in technology and forms of production. Polished and drilled stone axes, pottery, spinning and weaving appeared. Various types of economic activity have developed - agriculture and cattle breeding. The transition from gathering, from the appropriating economy to the producing one, began. Scientists call this time neolithic revolution.

During Eneolithic, Copper-Stone Age (IV thousand years BC - III thousand years BC), bronze age(III thousand years BC - I thousand years BC), iron age(II millennium BC - the end of the 1st millennium BC) in the most favorable climate zone Earth began the transition from primitive to ancient civilizations.

The appearance of metal tools and weapons in different regions of the Earth did not occur simultaneously, so the chronological framework last three periods of the primitive era vary depending on the specific region. In the Urals, the chronological framework of the Eneolithic is determined by the III millennium BC. e. - the beginning of the II millennium BC. e., the Bronze Age - the beginning of the II millennium BC. e. - the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e., Iron Age - from the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e.

During the spread of metal, large cultural communities began to take shape. Scientists believe that these communities corresponded to the language families from which the peoples who currently inhabit our country came out. The largest language family is Indo-European, from which 3 groups of languages ​​have emerged: Eastern (current Iranians, Indians, Armenians, Tajiks), European (Germans, French, English, Italians, Greeks), Slavic (Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Poles, Czechs , Slovaks, Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats). Another large language family is Finno-Ugric (current Finns, Estonians, Karelians, Khanty, Mordovians).

During the Bronze Age, the ancestors of the Slavs (Proto-Slavs) emerged from the Indo-European tribes; Archaeologists find the monuments belonging to them in the region located from the Oder River in the west to the Carpathians in the east of Europe.

Civilization era is about six thousand years old. In this era, a qualitatively different world is being created, although for a long time it still had many ties with primitiveness, and the transition to civilizations itself was carried out gradually, starting from the 4th millennium BC. e. While part of humanity was making a breakthrough - moving from primitive to civilized, in other areas people continued to be at the stage of the primitive communal system.

The civilizational epoch is usually called world history and is divided into four periods (Figure 3 on page 19).

Ancient world began with the emergence of civilization in Mesopotamia or Mesopotamia (in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers). In the III millennium BC. e. a civilization arose in the valley of the Nile River - the ancient Egyptian. In the II millennium BC. e. Ancient Indian, Ancient Chinese, Hebrew, Phoenician, Ancient Greek, Hittite civilizations were born. In I millennium BC. e. list ancient civilizations replenished: on the territory of Transcaucasia, the civilization of Urartu was formed, on the territory of Iran - the civilization of the Persians, on the Apennine Peninsula - the Roman civilization. The zone of civilizations covered not only the Old World, but also America, where the civilizations of the Maya, Aztecs and Incas developed.

The main criteria for the transition from the primitive world to civilizations:

The emergence of the state, a special institution that organizes, controls and directs joint activities and relations of people, social groups;

the emergence of private property, the stratification of society, the emergence of slavery;

social division of labor (agriculture, handicraft, trade) and the producing economy;

the emergence of cities, a special type of settlements, centers

Newest

Ancient world Middle Ages Modern times

IV millennium 476

BC e. BC e. XV-XVI 1920s

Rice. 3. Main periods world history

crafts and trade, in which the inhabitants, at least in part, were not engaged in rural labor (Ur, Babylon, Memphis, Thebes, Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, Pataliputra, Nanyang, Sanyan, Athens, Sparta, Rome, Naples, etc.);

the creation of writing (the main stages are ideographic or hieroglyphic writing, syllabic writing, alpha-sound or alphabetic writing), thanks to which people were able to consolidate laws, scientific and religious ideas and pass them on to posterity;

the creation of monumental structures (pyramids, temples, amphitheaters) that do not have an economic purpose.

The end of the Ancient World is associated with 476 AD. e., the year of the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Back in 330, Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire to its eastern part, on the banks of the Bosporus, to the place of the Greek colony of Byzantium. The new capital was named Constantinople (an old Russian name for Tsargrad). In 395, the Roman Empire split into Eastern and Western. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire, which received official name The "Empire of the Romans", and in literature - Byzantium, became the successor to the ancient world. The Byzantine Empire existed for about a thousand years, until 1453, and had a huge impact on Ancient Russia (see Chapter 7).

Chronological framework middle ages, 476 - the end of the 15th century, are determined, first of all, by the events and processes that took place in Western Europe. The Middle Ages is an important stage in the development of European civilization. During this period, many special features took shape and began to develop, which distinguished Western Europe from other civilizations and had a tremendous impact on all of humanity.

Eastern civilizations during this period did not stop in their development. There were rich cities in the East. The East presented the world with famous inventions: a compass, gunpowder, paper, glass, etc. However, the pace of development of the East, especially after the invasion of nomads at the turn of the 1st-2nd millennia (Bedouins, Seljuk Turks, Mongols), was slower compared to the West. But the main thing was that the eastern civilizations were focused on repetition, on the constant reproduction of the old, in antiquity established forms of statehood, social relations, and ideas. Tradition put up solid barriers, holding back change; oriental cultures resisted innovation.

The end of the Middle Ages and the onset of the third period of world history is associated with the beginning of three world-historical processes - a spiritual upheaval in the life of Europeans, the Great geographical discoveries, manufactory production.

The spiritual upheaval included two phenomena, a kind of two revolutions in the spiritual life of Europe - the Renaissance (Renaissance) and the Reformation.

Modern science sees the origins of the spiritual upheaval in the crusades organized at the end of the 11th - 13th centuries. European chivalry and the Catholic Church under the banner of the struggle against the "infidels" (Muslims), the liberation of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and the Holy Land (Palestine). The consequences of these campaigns for the then poor Europe were important. Europeans came into contact with a higher culture of the Middle East, adopted more advanced methods of cultivating the land and craft techniques, brought many useful plants from the East (rice, buckwheat, citrus fruits, cane sugar, apricots), silk, glass, paper, woodcuts (woodcut print ).

The centers of the spiritual upheaval were medieval cities(Paris, Marseille, Venice, Genoa, Florence, Milan, Lübeck, Frankfurt am Main). Cities achieved self-government, became centers not only of crafts and trade, but also of education. In Europe, the townspeople have achieved recognition of their rights at the national level, formed the third estate.

rebirth originated in Italy in the second half of the XIV century, in the XV-XVI centuries. spread to all countries Western Europe. Distinctive features of the culture of the Renaissance: secular character, humanistic worldview, appeal to the cultural heritage of antiquity, as if "revival" of it (hence the name of the phenomenon). The work of the Renaissance figures was imbued with faith in the limitless possibilities of man, his will and mind. Among the brilliant pleiad of poets, writers, playwrights, painters and sculptors whose names humanity is proud of are Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarch, Giovanni Boccaccio, Francois Rabelais, Ulrich von Hutten, Erasmus of Rotterdam, Miguel Cervantes, William Shakespeare, Geoffrey Chaucer, Thomas More, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael Santi, Michelangelo, Titian, Velasquez, Rembrandt.

Reformation - social movement in Europe in the 16th century, directed against catholic church. Its beginning is considered to be 1517, when the doctor of theology Martin Luther made 95 theses against the sale of indulgences (certificates of the remission of sins). The ideologists of the Reformation put forward theses that actually denied the need for the Catholic Church with its hierarchy and the clergy in general, denied the Church's rights to land and other wealth. Under the ideological banner of the Reformation, the Peasant War in Germany (1524-1526), ​​the Netherlands and English revolution.

The Reformation marked the beginning of Protestantism, the third current in Christianity. This trend, which broke away from Catholicism, united many independent churches, sects (Lutheranism, Calvinism, the Anglican Church, Baptists, etc.). Protestantism is characterized by the absence of a fundamental opposition of the clergy to the laity, the rejection of a complex church hierarchy, a simplified cult, the absence of monasticism, celibacy; in Protestantism there is no cult of the Virgin, saints, angels, icons, the number of sacraments is reduced to two (baptism and communion). The main source of doctrine among Protestants is the Holy Scripture (that is, the Old Testament and the New Testament).

The Renaissance and the Reformation put the human personality in the center, energetic, striving to transform the world, with a pronounced strong-willed beginning. However, the Reformation had a more disciplinary effect; it encouraged individualism, but placed it within a strict framework of morality based on religious values.

Great geographical discoveries- a complex of the most significant discoveries on land and at sea from the middle of the 15th to the middle of the 17th centuries. The discoveries of the Central and South America(H. Columbus, A. Vespucci, A. Velez de Mendoza, 1492-1502), the sea route from Europe to India (Vasco da Gama, 1497-1499). First trip around the world F. Magellan in 1519-1522 proved the existence of the World Ocean and the sphericity of the Earth. Great geographical discoveries became possible thanks to technical discoveries and inventions, including the creation of new ships - caravels. At the same time, long-distance sea voyages stimulated the development of science, technology, and manufactory production. The era of colonial conquests began, which was accompanied by violence, robberies and even the death of civilizations (Maya, Incas, Aztecs). European countries seized lands in America (from the beginning of the 16th century blacks began to be imported there), Africa, and India. The wealth of the enslaved countries, as a rule, less developed in socio-economic respect, gave a powerful impetus to the development of industry and trade, and ultimately to the industrial modernization of Europe.

At the end of the XV century. originated in Europe manufactories(from lat. - I do with my hands), large enterprises based on the division of labor and handicraft technology. Often the period of European history from the appearance of manufactories to the start of the industrial revolution is called "manufactory". There were two forms of manufactory: centralized (the entrepreneur himself created a large workshop, in which all operations for the manufacture of a particular product were carried out under his leadership) and much more common - scattered (the entrepreneur distributed raw materials to homeworkers-artisans and received from them a finished product or semi-finished product) . Manufactories contributed to the deepening of the social division of labor, the improvement of production tools, the growth of labor productivity, the formation of new social strata - the industrial bourgeoisie and wage workers (this social process ended with the industrial revolution). Manufactories prepared the transition to machine production.

World historical processes, indicating the end of the Middle Ages, required new ways of transmitting information. This new method was printing. A breakthrough in the technique of book production was made by Johannes Gutenberg. Gutenberg's invention was an overdue and prepared development of the book industry in previous centuries: the appearance in Europe of paper, the technique of woodcutting, the creation in scriptoria (monastic workshops) and universities of hundreds and thousands of handwritten books of predominantly religious content. Gutenberg in 1453-1454 In Mainz, he first printed a book, the so-called 42-line Bible. Typography has become a material base for the dissemination of knowledge, information, literacy, and sciences.

Chronological framework of the third period of world history, new time(the beginning of the 16th century - the beginning of the 1920s) are defined in the same way as the medieval period, primarily by the events and processes that took place in Western Europe. Since in other countries, including Russia, development was slower than in the West, the processes characteristic of modern times began here later.

With the advent of modern times, the destruction of medieval foundations (that is, political and social institutions, norms, customs) and the formation of an industrial society began. The process of transition of a medieval (traditional, agrarian) society to an industrial society is called modernization (from French - the latest, modern). This process took about three hundred years in Europe.

Modernization processes took place at different times: they started earlier and proceeded faster in Holland and England; slower these processes were in France; even slower - in Germany, Italy, Russia; a special way of modernization was in North America(USA, Canada); started in the East in the 20th century. modernization processes are called westernization (from English - western).

Modernization covered all areas of society, it included:

Industrialization, the process of creating large-scale machine production; the beginning of the process of ever-increasing use of machines in production was laid by the industrial revolution (it first began in England in the 1760s, in Russia it began at the turn of the 1830s-1840s);

Urbanization (from Latin - urban), the process of increasing the role of cities in the development of society; the city for the first time gains economic dominance,

pushing the village into the background (already at the end of the 18th century, the proportion of the urban population in Holland was 50%; in England this figure was 30%; in France - 15%, and in Russia - about 5%);

democratization political life, creation of prerequisites for the formation of the rule of law and civil society;

Secularization, limiting the influence of the church in the life of society, including the conversion by the state of church property (mainly land) into secular property; the process of dissemination of secular elements in culture was called "secularization" of culture (from the word "worldly" - secular);

Fast, in comparison with the previous period, the growth of knowledge about nature and society.

The ideas of the Enlightenment played an important role in the process of modernization, in the spiritual upheaval. Education, as an ideological movement based on the conviction of the decisive role of reason and science in the knowledge of the "natural order" corresponding to the true nature of man and society, arose in England in the 17th century. (J. Locke, A. Collins). In the XVIII century. Enlightenment spread throughout Europe, reached its peak in France - F. Voltaire, D. Diderot, C. Montesquieu, J.-J. Rousseau. French enlighteners, led by D. Diderot, participated in the creation of a unique edition - "Encyclopedia, or explanatory dictionary sciences, arts and crafts”, therefore they are called encyclopedists. Enlighteners of the 18th century in Germany - G. Lessing, I. Goethe; in the USA - T. Jefferson, B. Franklin; in Russia - N. Novikov, A. Radishchev. Enlighteners considered ignorance, obscurantism, religious fanaticism to be the causes of all human disasters. They opposed the feudal-absolutist regime, for political freedom, civil equality. The Enlighteners did not call for revolution, but their ideas played a revolutionary role in the public consciousness. The 18th century is most often referred to as the Age of Enlightenment.

A huge role in the process of modernization was played by revolutions, cardinal changes in the socio-political system, characterized by a sharp break with the previous tradition, the violent transformation of public and state institutions. In the West in the XVI-XVIII centuries. revolutions swept four countries: Holland (1566-1609), England (1640-1660), USA (War for the Independence of the North American Colonies, 1775-1783), France (1789-1799). In the 19th century revolutions swept other European countries: Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Germany, Italy, Spain. In the 19th century The West "had been ill" with revolutions, having undergone a kind of vaccination.

The 19th century is called the "age of capitalism" because in this century an industrial society was established in Europe. Two factors were decisive in the victory of industrial society: the industrial revolution, the transition from manufactory to machine production; change in the political and social structure of society, almost complete liberation from the state, political, legal institutions of traditional society. For the main differences between industrial and traditional societies, see Table. 1. (p. 27).

The end of modern times is usually associated with the First World War (1914-1918) and revolutionary upheavals in Europe and Asia in 1918-1923.

The fourth period of world history, which began in the 1920s, was called modern times in Soviet historiography. For a long time, the name of the last period of world history was given a propagandistic meaning as the beginning of a new era in the history of mankind, opened by the October Revolution of 1917.

In the West, the last period of world history is called modernity, modern history. Moreover, the beginning of modernity is mobile: once it began in 1789, then - in 1871, now - from the beginning of the 1920s.

The question of the end of the fourth period of world history and the onset of the fifth period, just like the whole problem of periodization, is debatable. It is quite obvious that in the world at the turn of the XX - XXI century. in. there have been drastic changes. Understanding their essence, significance and consequences for humanity, which has entered the III millennium from the birth of Christ, is the most important task of economists, sociologists, and historians.

Table 1.

The main features of traditional and industrial societies

Painting, as part of a comprehensive art, cannot exist outside of history; in any case, it correlates with a specific era, time, reflects its main features, conveys specific thoughts, emotions and feelings of the art of that time.

The era of painting - what is it?

First of all, we can say that each era of painting is designed to reflect the features of the time in which it existed. So, according to the painting of one or more periods, the following characteristics of the period in which it was written can be noted:

• spiritual;
• historical;
• political;
• Cultural and more.

The era of painting is a kind of mirror, which reflects the world and its life in a specific historical period. And this is right /, this is interesting and must remain for our descendants, because it is precisely such things that are designed to hold generations together, to make the life that once was the most understandable for those who live in modern world. In addition, it should be noted that each of the eras of art in one way or another affects the lives of people, each of us specifically and, of course, society as a whole.

ancient painting

Painting, like any other kind of real art, had its beginning. At a certain moment, it began to revive in the world, and then to develop and take a firm place in the ladder of all types of art today. If we talk about which era of painting is the most ancient, then we can recall how ancient people loved to draw on the rocks. Can rock paintings be called painting, and even in the sense in which we understand it today? It seems that the answer to the question is rather negative, because in such drawings there are no signs of painting, but they cannot be discounted, because they may have been the forerunners of the appearance of painting. It is possible to say that painting began to emerge only simultaneously with the emergence of such majestic states as, for example, Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome.

Ancient era of painting

This is a rather bright layer in the history of all painting, which can be called with a fairly high probability the very first era in which painting began to develop. Speaking about this era, first of all, it can be noted that here painting was represented by painting on stones, interesting frescoes. In order for the images not to deteriorate over time, it was customary to cover them with ordinary resin. It is thanks to this that some of the frescoes are so perfectly preserved to this day. If we talk about the nature of the painting of that period, then it was rather religious.

Middle Ages

This is exactly the period when Christianity began to flourish, which could not but affect the development of painting and the formation of its features.

First of all, from the moment the Middle Ages began, painting becomes an important link in all art, and works of art during this period become more accurate and realistic. This happened due to the fact that artists mastered new drawing techniques during this period, and significant changes took place in the society of that time, which also influenced painting. Such realistic artistic images have become a real platform for a breakthrough in Western European art.

We can also say that the painting of the Middle Ages was distinguished not only by a significant improvement in its quality, but also by the idea of ​​humanism, which was imbued with almost all the creations of that time.

It is important to note that the 13th century also opened up quite good prospects for artists. At that time, every castle, palace, was very boring without decorations in the form of paintings. At first, artists especially for this occasion wrote their paintings exclusively on religious themes, but later their horizons were significantly expanded, which was reflected in the paintings, from that moment on, artists began to decorate palaces with works of a secular nature. Books of that time were also decorated, this happened with the help of miniatures. Of course, it was not typical for ordinary people to have such things, but for princes, kings, books were constantly decorated with miniatures.

It was in the 13th century that artists ceased to live within the walls of monasteries, they became independent and opened their own workshops.

Over time, wall painting began to develop actively, it was mainly used to decorate churches. She replaced the mosaic, which was much more difficult to perform and more expensive.

It took the artists quite a long time before the paintings became voluminous, began to resemble the outlines of a particular person. It is important to note that at the end of the 14th century, painters began to come to some particular style in their paintings, which was later called International Gothic. It was in the Middle Ages that such writing styles as Byzantine, Old Russian appeared.

renaissance, romanticism

The Renaissance era has such a name precisely because during this period painting began to change significantly, it began to be saturated with those trends that had already been there, but with the passage of time they became a thing of the past. So, in the Renaissance, humanistic views began to be valued. Other features of painting of this time can be noted:

• Demonstration of attention to ancient times;
• The presence of secular motives.

It was during this period that landscapes and portraits became popular. The result of the continuation of the motives of the Renaissance is the birth of the Baroque. His fans said that it is necessary to bow before everything beautiful, moreover, this is not enough. It is important to bring everything beautiful to such a state that it becomes perfection. This can be traced in those paintings where pretentiousness is noted, the drawing of fantastic shapes and lines. Classicism then returns painting again to the ancient worldview.

coda we are talking about romanticism, it means the stage of painting, when artists opposed creativity, individualism, creation to science and reason in the first place.

Modernity and the past 20th century can be characterized as an era of experiments.

The main periods in the development of world art.

Primitive art - the art of the first man, the tribes that inhabited our planet before the appearance of the first civilizations. In terms of territory, it covers all continents except Antarctica, and in terms of time - the entire era of human existence, up to the present day, because. there are still peoples living outside of civilization. The objects of primitive art include rock paintings, sculptural images, reliefs and drawings on household items, weapons, jewelry and ritual objects, architectural buildings of a cult nature.

Art of the Ancient World - this is the art of the first civilizations: Egypt, Greece, Rome and adjacent states and civilizations. Art is closely connected with pagan beliefs, almost completely devoted to deities and mythological heroes. In the early periods, the art of different civilizations has similar features of the primitive, but in later periods there is a sharp difference in architectural structures, principles and rules for depicting humans, animals, etc.

Middle Ages - qualitatively new stage in the development of all European art, which began with the adoption of Christianity by the countries of Western Europe, and in this sense, united the themes and the direction of the style of different peoples. It is divided into Romanesque and Gothic styles.

Roman style- an artistic style that dominated the art of Western Europe (and in some countries of Eastern Europe) mainly in the 10th-12th centuries. the main role was assigned to a harsh, fortress-like architecture. Monastic complexes, temples, castles were located on hills and dominated the area; their external appearance was distinguished by monolithic integrity, was full of calm and solemn strength, emphasized by the massiveness of walls and volumes, the rhythm of architectural decor simple in form. Inside the buildings of the Romanesque style, they were divided into separate cells, covered with vaults (sometimes with domes). AT fine arts the main place was occupied by monumental reliefs on the portals of temples and carved capitals of columns, as well as book miniatures, which received significant development in this era. The arts and crafts of the Romanesque style reached a high level - casting, chasing, bone carving, enameling, etc.

Gothic(from Italian gotico, literally - Gothic, i.e. related to the Germanic tribe ready) - an artistic style, the final stage in the development of medieval art in Western, Central and partly Eastern Europe (12th - 15th \ 16th centuries). Gothic art remained cult and religious, correlated with eternity, with the Divine universe. The model of this universe, the symbol of the Universe, was the Gothic cathedral, whose complex frame structure, solemn grandeur and dynamics, an abundance of plasticity expressed both the ideas of the heavenly and earthly hierarchy, and the greatness of the creative forces of man. Painting existed mainly in the form of stained glass windows. In Gothic sculpture, the rigidity and isolation of Romanesque statues were replaced by the mobility of figures. In the Gothic era, book miniature flourished, altar painting appeared, and decorative art reached a high level. Own variants of Gothic were developed in Spain, Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and other European countries.

rebirth, Renaissance- an era in the cultural development of a number of European countries (in Italy 14-16 centuries, in other regions - the end of the 15-16 centuries), transitional from the Middle Ages to the new time and marked by the growth of secular, humanistic, appeal to antiquity, "revival" of it . In the architecture and fine arts of the Renaissance, the discovery of sensuality and the diversity of the surrounding reality was combined with the development of the laws of linear and aerial perspective, the theory of proportions, problems of anatomy, etc. The Renaissance was most strongly realized in Italy, where the periods of Proto-Renaissance (13th and 14th centuries), Early Renaissance (15th century), High Renaissance (late 15th - early 16th centuries), Late Renaissance (16th century) are distinguished. The largest masters of this era are Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo. A common but conditional concept "Northern Renaissance" applied to the culture and art of Germany, the Netherlands, France; one of the main features of these countries is their connection with the art of the late Gothic. These are the works of I. Bosch, P. Brueghel the Elder and others.

Baroque(Italian barocco - bizarre, strange), one of the dominant styles in the architecture and art of Europe and Latin America in the late 16th - mid-18th centuries. Baroque art is characterized by grandiosity, pomp and dynamics, elation, intensity of feelings, spectacular spectacle, strong contrasts of scales and rhythms, light and shadow. The interiors of the buildings were decorated with multi-color sculptures, carvings, mirrors and murals illusoryly expanded the space. In painting, this is emotionality, rhythm, freedom of stroke, in sculpture, the fluidity of form, a sense of the variability of the image. Most prominent representatives were P.P. Rubens, A. van Dyck.

Academicism- isolation from practice, from life's realities, the direction that developed in the art academies of the 16th-19th centuries. and based on the literal adherence to the forms of classical art of the eras of antiquity and the Renaissance. Academism implanted a system of timeless, "eternal" canons, forms of beauty, idealized images.

Classicism, an artistic style in European art of the 11th-early 19th centuries, one of the most important features of which was the appeal to ancient art as a standard. Piece of art was considered as the fruit of reason and logic, triumphing over chaos and feelings. The architecture of Classicism is distinguished by the logical layout and clarity of volumes. In painting, the main elements were line and chiaroscuro, local color. Neoclassicism (18th - early 19th centuries) became a pan-European style, also formed mainly in French culture, under the strong influence of the ideas of the Enlightenment. In architecture, this is an exquisite mansion, front public building, an open city square, striving for severe simplicity, the drama of historical and portrait images, the dominance of the tradition of academism.

Romanticism - artistic movement in European and American culture of the late 18th - early 19th centuries. - striving for boundless freedom and the infinite, the thirst for perfection and renewal, personal and civil independence. The discord between the ideal and reality formed the basis of romanticism; the affirmation of the inherent value of the creative and spiritual life of man, the depiction of strong passions, the spiritualization of nature, interest in the national past are combined with the motives of world sorrow, the desire to explore and recreate the "shadow", "night" side of the human soul. The most consistent romantic school developed in France (E. Delacroix).

Impressionism(from the French impression - impression), a trend in art of the late 19th - early 20th centuries. It originated in French painting in the late 1860s: E. Manet, O. Renoir, E. Degas depicted instant situations “peeped” in reality, used unbalanced compositions, unexpected angles, points of view, cuts of figures. K. Money and others developed a system of plein air, created in their paintings a feeling of sparkling sunlight and air., wealth of colors. The name of the direction comes from the name of the painting by C. Monet "Impression. The Rising Sun" was exhibited in 1874 in Paris. In the paintings, complex colors were decomposed into pure components, which were superimposed on the canvas in separate strokes, colored shadows, reflexes. The concept of Impressionism in sculpture is the desire to convey instantaneous movement, fluidity and softness of form.

Naturalism(from lat. naturalis - natural, natural), a trend in art that developed in Europe and the USA in the last third of the 19th century. and striving for an accurate and impartial reproduction of reality. Naturalism is an outwardly life-like reproduction of reality, a superficial image, a predilection for recreating the gloomy, shady sides of life.

Modern(French moderne - the latest, modern), style in European and American art of the late 19th century. – 1910s Masters modern used new technical and constructive means, the creation of unusual, emphatically individual in appearance buildings, the facades of modern buildings have dynamism and fluidity of forms. Ornament has become one of the main expressive means in modernist style. Art Nouveau painting is characterized by a combination of "carpet" ornamental backgrounds and naturalistic tangibility of figures and details, silhouettes, and the use of large color planes. Sculpture and graphics of Art Nouveau are distinguished by the dynamics and fluidity of forms. One of the famous painters and graphics of that direction is P. Gauguin.

Realism(from lat. realis - material, effective) - this is a conviction in knowability real world. This is the work of Rembrandt, D. Velasquez and others.

Primitive society- from the appearance of the first human ancestors to the emergence of cities, states and writing. This period is also called prehistoric, but I do not agree with this: once a person appeared, it means that the history of mankind began, even if we learn about it not through written sources, but through various archaeological finds. At this time, man mastered agriculture and cattle breeding, began to build houses and cities, religion and art were born. And this is history, albeit primitive.

Ancient world– from the first ancient states to the fall of the Western Roman Empire (5.5 thousand years ago - V century AD). Civilizations of the Ancient East, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, Ancient America. An amazing time in which writing appeared, science was born, new religions, poetry, architecture, theater, the first ideas about democracy and human rights, but can you list everything!

Middle Ages (V-XV centuries)- from the fall of the Western Roman Empire at the end of the ancient era, to the Great geographical discoveries, the invention of printing. Feudal relations, the Inquisition, knights, Gothic - the first thing that comes to mind when mentioning the Middle Ages.

New time (XV century - 1914)- from the Great geographical discoveries to the beginning of World War I. The period of the Renaissance in science and culture, the discovery of the New World by the Spaniards, the fall of Constantinople, the English and French revolutions, Napoleonic Wars and much more.

Newest time- period in human history (from 1914 to the present).

Other approaches to dividing the history of mankind into periods:

– formational, depending on the socio-economic system: primitive communal system, slaveholding, feudal, capitalist and communist(what we were driven into at school);

– by production methods: agrarian society, industrial society, post-industrial society;

- according to the level of development of material culture:primitive period, archaic period, dark ages, antiquity, middle ages, revival, modern times, modernity;

– by periods of reign of prominent rulers;

– by periods of historically significant wars;

From a chronological point of view, history is divided into primitive, ancient, medieval, new, and recent. This periodization, in its main outlines adopted in the 19th century, is suitable only for Western Europe.

History of primitive society covers the period from the moment of the emergence of man 2.5-1 million years ago (see Art. Anthroposociogenesis) to the formation of the first states in Asia and Africa (the turn of 4-3 thousand BC). At the same time, in other parts of the world, the era of primitiveness lasted much longer. According to archaeological periodization, based on differences in the material and appearance of tools, the history of primitive society is divided into a number of eras: early (ended about 100 thousand years ago), middle (about 40 thousand years ago) and late (about 40 thousand years ago). 10 thousand years ago) Paleolithic, Mesolithic (8 thousand years ago) and Neolithic (5 thousand years ago; the Eneolithic is also distinguished within it). This is followed by the Bronze Age (before 1000 BC) and the Iron Age, when primitive societies coexist with the first civilizations. For each region, the time frame of epochs varies significantly. In primitive society, there were no clearly defined social and property differences; the tribal system dominated (see Art. Genus, Tribe).

Ancient world history studies the existence of the most ancient civilizations (Ancient East, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome) from the moment of their origin to the 5th century. n. e. The end of the era of the Ancient World is traditionally considered the year of the fall of the Western Roman Empire (476). However, this chronological line does not matter for other civilizations (see Art. Chinese civilization, Mesoamerican civilization). With significant differences in the types of government (from eastern despotism to the polis system), most ancient societies were dominated by slavery (see Art. Slavery).

History of the Middle Ages affects the 5th-15th centuries, the discovery of America by X. Columbus (1492) is considered the end of the European Middle Ages. Medieval European society existed under feudalism. The term "Middle Ages" was first used by the Italian humanist F. Biondo (1392-1463) to refer to the period between Antiquity and the Renaissance. The European Middle Ages is divided into Early (5-10 centuries, so-called. Dark Ages), High (11-13 centuries) and Late (14-15 centuries).

New history called the period 16 - con. 18th century Some scientists consider the beginning of the Great French Revolution of 1789-1799 to be the chronological boundary separating the New Age from the next era, while others consider the end of the First World War of 1914-1918. The European Modern Age was marked by the eras of the Great Geographical Discoveries and the Renaissance, the spread of printing, the Reformation, the Counter-Reformation and the first all-European war (see Art. Thirty Years' War). The most important process New time was the formation nation states. The characteristic form of government for this era was absolutism. Recent history, according to some, covers the period from 1789 to the end of the Second World War 1939-1945, and according to others - from 1918 to the present. European civilization entered the industrial age, characterized by the dominance of capitalism, world wars, the beginning of colonialism and the fall of the colonial system. The dominant form of government was a republic or a constitutional monarchy.

Modern history dates back to the end of World War II. Some scholars consider this era integral part Recent history, other researchers distinguish in an independent period of human development - post-industrial civilization. It is characterized by the processes of the information revolution and globalization, the emergence of a post-industrial society (see Art. Post-industrial (information) society theory), “ cold war"and the collapse of the socialist camp, large-scale environmental pollution, the fight against international terrorism.

The number of styles and trends is huge, if not endless. The key feature by which works can be grouped by style is the unified principles of artistic thinking. The change of some ways of artistic thinking by others (alternating types of compositions, techniques of spatial constructions, features of color) is not accidental. Our perception of art is also historically changeable.
Building a system of styles in a hierarchical order, we will adhere to the Eurocentric tradition. The largest in the history of art is the concept of an era. Each era is characterized by a certain “picture of the world”, which consists of philosophical, religious, political ideas, scientific ideas, psychological characteristics of the worldview, ethical and moral norms, aesthetic criteria of life, according to which they distinguish one era from another. These are the Primitive Age, the era of the Ancient World, Antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the New Age.
Styles in art do not have clear boundaries, they smoothly pass one into another and are in continuous development, mixing and opposition. Within the framework of one historical artistic style, a new one is always born, and that, in turn, passes into the next. Many styles coexist at the same time and therefore there are no “pure styles” at all.
Several styles can coexist in the same historical era. For example, Classicism, Academicism and Baroque in the 17th century, Rococo and Neoclassicism in the 18th century, Romanticism and Academicism in the 19th century. Such styles as, for example, classicism and baroque are called great styles, since they apply to all types of art: architecture, painting, arts and crafts, literature, music.
It should be distinguished: artistic styles, trends, trends, schools and features of the individual styles of individual masters. Within one style, there can be several artistic directions. The artistic direction is made up of both signs typical of a given era and peculiar ways of artistic thinking. The Art Nouveau style, for example, includes a number of trends from the turn of the century: post-impressionism, symbolism, fauvism, and so on. On the other hand, the concept of symbolism as an artistic movement is well developed in literature, while in painting it is very vague and unites artists who are so different stylistically that it is often interpreted only as a worldview that unites them.

Below are the definitions of eras, styles and trends that are somehow reflected in modern fine and decorative arts.

	- an artistic style that was formed in the countries of Western and Central Europe in the XII-XV centuries. It was the result of the centuries-old evolution of medieval art, its highest stage and at the same time the first pan-European, international art style in history. It covered all kinds of art - architecture, sculpture, painting, stained glass, book design, arts and crafts. The basis of the Gothic style was architecture, which is characterized by lancet arches soaring upwards, multi-colored stained-glass windows, visual dematerialization of the form. Elements of Gothic art can often be found in modern design interiors, in particular, in wall painting, less often in easel painting. Since the end of the last century, there goth subculture, clearly manifested in music, poetry, fashion design.
	(Renaissance) - (French Renaissance, Italian Rinascimento) An era in the cultural and ideological development of a number of countries in Western and Central Europe, as well as some countries in Eastern Europe. The main distinguishing features of the Renaissance culture: secular character, humanistic worldview, appeal to the ancient cultural heritage, a kind of "revival" of it (hence the name). Renaissance culture has specific features transitional era from the Middle Ages to the new time, in which the old and the new, intertwined, form a peculiar, qualitatively new alloy. Difficult is the question of the chronological boundaries of the Renaissance (in Italy - 14-16 centuries, in other countries - 15-16 centuries), its territorial distribution and national characteristics. Elements of this style in modern art are often used in wall paintings, less often in easel painting.
	- (from the Italian maniera - technique, manner) a trend in European art of the 16th century. Representatives of mannerism moved away from the Renaissance harmonious perception of the world, the humanistic concept of man as a perfect creation of nature. A sharp perception of life was combined with a programmatic desire not to follow nature, but to express the subjective "inner idea" of the artistic image that was born in the artist's soul. Most clearly manifested in Italy. For Italian Mannerism 1520s. (Pontormo, Parmigianino, Giulio Romano) are characterized by the dramatic sharpness of the images, the tragedy of the worldview, the complexity and exaggerated expression of postures and movement motifs, the elongation of the proportions of the figures, coloristic and light and shade dissonances. Recently, it has been used by art historians to refer to phenomena in contemporary art associated with the transformation of historical styles.
	- historical art style, which was originally distributed in Italy in the middle. XVI-XVII centuries, and then in France, Spain, Flanders and Germany in the XVII-XVIII centuries. More broadly, this term is used to define the ever-renewing tendencies of a restless, romantic worldview, thinking in expressive, dynamic forms. Finally, in every time, in almost every historical artistic style, one can find its own "baroque period" as a stage of the highest creative upsurge, tension of emotions, explosiveness of forms.
	- artistic style in Western European art XVII - early. XIX century and in Russian XVIII - early. XIX, referring to the ancient heritage as an ideal to follow. It manifested itself in architecture, sculpture, painting, arts and crafts. Classicist artists considered antiquity to be the highest achievement and made it their standard in art, which they sought to imitate. Over time, it was reborn into academism.
	- a trend in European and Russian art of the 1820s-1830s, which replaced classicism. Romantics brought individuality to the forefront, opposing the ideal beauty of the classicists to "imperfect" reality. Artists were attracted by bright, rare, extraordinary phenomena, as well as images of a fantastic nature. In the art of romanticism, a sharp individual perception and experience plays an important role. Romanticism liberated art from abstract classicistic dogmas and turned it towards national history and images of folklore.
	- (from lat. sentiment - feeling) - the direction of Western art of the second half of XVIII., expressing disappointment in a “civilization” based on the ideals of “reason” (the ideology of the Enlightenment). S. proclaims feeling, solitary reflection, simplicity rural life “little man". J. J. Rousseau is considered to be the ideologist of S..
	- direction in art, striving with the greatest truth and reliability to display both the external form and the essence of phenomena and things. How a creative method combines individual and typical features when creating an image. The longest time of existence direction, developing from the primitive era to the present day.
	- direction in European artistic culture of the late XIX-early XX centuries. Emerged as a reaction to domination in humanitarian sphere norms of bourgeois "sanity" (in philosophy, aesthetics - positivism, in art - naturalism), symbolism first of all took shape in French literature of the late 1860s and 70s, and later became widespread in Belgium, Germany, Austria, Norway, Russia. The aesthetic principles of symbolism in many respects went back to the ideas of romanticism, as well as to some doctrines of the idealistic philosophy of A. Schopenhauer, E. Hartmann, partly F. Nietzsche, to the work and theorizing of the German composer R. Wagner. Symbolism contrasted the living reality with the world of visions and dreams. A symbol generated by poetic insight and expressing the otherworldly meaning of phenomena, hidden from ordinary consciousness, was considered a universal tool for comprehending the secrets of being and individual consciousness. The artist-creator was considered as an intermediary between the real and the supersensible, finding "signs" of world harmony everywhere, prophetically guessing the signs of the future both in modern phenomena and in the events of the past.
	- (from French impression - impression) a trend in art of the last third of the 19th - early 20th centuries, which arose in France. The name was introduced by art critic L. Leroy, who disparagingly commented on the exhibition of artists in 1874, where, among others, C. Monet's painting “Sunrise. Impression". Impressionism asserted the beauty of the real world, emphasizing the freshness of the first impression, the variability of the environment. The predominant attention to solving purely pictorial problems reduced the traditional idea of ​​drawing as the main component of a work of art. Impressionism had a powerful impact on the art of European countries and the United States, aroused interest in subjects from real life. (E. Manet, E. Degas, O. Renoir, C. Monet, A. Sisley, etc.)
	- a trend in painting (synonymous with divisionism), which developed within the framework of neo-impressionism. Neo-Impressionism originated in France in 1885 and also spread to Belgium and Italy. The neo-impressionists tried to apply the latest advances in the field of optics in art, according to which painting, made by separate points of primary colors, in visual perception gives a fusion of colors and the whole gamut of painting. (J. Seurat, P. Signac, K. Pissarro).
	post-impressionism- conditional collective name of the main directions of French painting to. XIX - 1st quarter. 20th century The art of post-impressionism arose as a reaction to impressionism, which fixed attention on the transfer of the moment, on the feeling of picturesqueness and lost interest in the form of objects. Among the post-impressionists are P. Cezanne, P. Gauguin, V. Gogh and others.
	- style in European and American art at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. Art Nouveau rethought and stylized the features of the art of different epochs, and developed its own artistic techniques based on the principles of asymmetry, ornamentality and decorativeness. Natural forms also become the object of stylization of modernity. Этим oбъяcняeтcя нe тoлькo интepec к pacтитeльным opнaмeнтaм в пpoизвeдeнияx мoдepнa, нo и caмa иx кoмпoзициoннaя и плacтичecкaя cтpyктypa - oбилиe кpивoлинeйныx oчepтaний, oплывaющиx, нepoвныx кoнтypoв, нaпoминaющиx pacтитeльныe фopмы. Closely connected with modernity is symbolism, which served as the aesthetic and philosophical basis for modernity, relying on modernity as a plastic implementation of its ideas. Art Nouveau had different names in different countries, which are essentially synonymous: Art Nouveau - in France, Secession - in Austria, Jugendstil - in Germany, Liberty - in Italy.
	- (from French modern - modern) the general name of a number of art movements of the first half of the 20th century, which are characterized by the denial of traditional forms and aesthetics of the past. Modernism is close to avant-gardism and opposed to academicism.
	- a name that unites the range of artistic movements that were widespread in the 1905-1930s. (Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Expressionism, Dadaism, Surrealism). All these areas are united by the desire to renew the language of art, to rethink its tasks, to gain freedom of artistic expression.
	- direction in art to. XIX - present. XX century, based on the creative lessons of the French artist Paul Cezanne, who reduced all forms in the image to the simplest geometric shapes, and color - to contrasting constructions of warm and cold tones. Cézannism served as one of the starting points for cubism. To a large extent, cezannism also influenced the domestic realistic school of painting.
	- (from fauve - wild) avant-garde trend in French art n. 20th century The name "wild" was given by modern critics to a group of artists who appeared in 1905 in the Parisian Salon of Independents, and was ironic. The group included A. Matisse, A. Marquet, J. Rouault, M. de Vlaminck, A. Derain, R. Dufy, J. Braque, K. van Dongen and others. , the search for impulses in primitive creativity, the art of the Middle Ages and the East.
	- deliberate simplification visual means, imitation of the primitive stages of the development of art. This term refers to the so-called. naive art of artists who did not receive a special education, but were involved in the general artistic process of the late 19th - early 19th century. XX century. The works of these artists - N. Pirosmani, A. Russo, V. Selivanov and others are characterized by a kind of childishness in the interpretation of nature, a combination of generalized form and petty literalness in details. The primitivism of the form by no means predetermines the primitiveness of the content. It often serves as a source for professionals who borrowed forms, images, methods from folk, essentially primitive art. N. Goncharova, M. Larionov, P. Picasso, A. Matisse drew inspiration from primitivism.
	- a direction in art that has developed on the basis of following the canons of antiquity and the Renaissance. It existed in many European schools of art from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Academism turned classical traditions into a system of "eternal" rules and regulations that fettered creative searches, tried to oppose imperfect living nature with "high" improved, extra-national and timeless forms of beauty brought to perfection. Academism is characterized by a preference for plots from ancient mythology, biblical or historical themes over plots from contemporary artist life.
	- (French cubisme, from cube - cube) direction in the art of the first quarter of the 20th century. The plastic language of cubism was based on the deformation and decomposition of objects into geometric planes, the plastic shift of form. The birth of cubism falls on 1907-1908 - the eve of the First World War. The undisputed leader of this trend was the poet and publicist G. Apollinaire. This trend was one of the first to embody the leading trends further development art of the twentieth century. One of these trends was the dominance of the concept over the artistic value of the painting itself. J. Braque and P. Picasso are considered the fathers of cubism. Fernand Léger, Robert Delaunay, Juan Gris, and others joined the emerging current.
	- a trend in literature, painting and cinema that arose in 1924 in France. It greatly contributed to the formation of the consciousness of modern man. The main figures of the movement are Andre Breton, Louis Aragon, Salvador Dali, Luis Bunuel, Juan Miro and many other artists from all over the world. Surrealism expressed the idea of ​​existence beyond the real, especially important role here they acquire absurdity, the unconscious, dreams, daydreams. One of the characteristic methods of the surrealist artist is the removal of conscious creativity, which makes him a tool, different ways extracting bizarre images of the subconscious, akin to hallucinations. Surrealism survived several crises, survived the second world war and gradually, merging with mass culture, intersecting with the transavant-garde, entered postmodernism as an integral part.
	- (from lat. futurum - future) literary and artistic movement in the art of the 1910s. Oтвoдя ceбe poль пpooбpaзa иcкyccтвa бyдyщeгo, фyтypизм в кaчecтвe ocнoвнoй пpoгpaммы выдвигaл идeю paзpyшeния кyльтypныx cтepeoтипoв и пpeдлaгaл взaмeн aпoлoгию тexники и ypбaнизмa кaк глaвныx пpизнaкoв нacтoящeгo и гpядyщeгo. An important artistic idea of ​​futurism was the search for a plastic expression of the swiftness of movement as the main sign of the pace of modern life. The Russian version of futurism was called kybofuturism and was based on a combination of the plastic principles of French cubism and European general aesthetic installations of futurism.